MMA News

Russell Ess - September 12, 2016

UFC commentator Joe Rogan has been sitting cageside and has seen and called on many, many fights over the years. Rogan is also very well trained in martial arts himself, which is one of the reasons why so many fans enjoy Rogan giving his commentary. During the UFC 203 pay-per-view broadcast, after Phil Brooks, who is better known by his WWE name, CM Punk, was steamrolled in his professional mixed martial arts debut against Mickey Gall, Rogan gave his thoughts on Punk.

Russell Ess - September 12, 2016

UFC 203 had a bit of everything. The event was wild, weird, and definitely entertaining. From a back and forth heavyweight title fight that ended up with a knockout delivered by the champion Stipe Miocic to a kick thrown by former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum on his opponent’s coach after the fight was over. UFC 203 definitely provided entertainment for the fans, but it also came at a price for 12 of the 20 fighters that stepped into the Octagon.

bjpenndotcom - September 12, 2016

Now with UFC 203 in the books, the salaries from Saturday night’s fights are in, and Overeem leads the pack for the largest payout of the night. The Dutch striker took home $800,000 in disclosed pay in a losing effort to Stipe Miocic, who himself took home $600,000 in his first title defense since winning the belt from Fabricio Werdum at UFC 198.

bjpenndotcom - September 12, 2016

CM Punk had some words of wisdom for the man who beat him on Saturday night. Even though Mickey Gall submitted the former WWE superstar in the very first round of their UFC 203 contest, Punk shared what he told him immediately following the end of their fight. “Throughout his interviews, he’d say things like, in speaking about himself, that he didn’t belong in the UFC and he didn’t belong on the main card,” said Punk.

Tom Taylor - September 12, 2016

Once widely considered the greatest mixed martial artist on the planet, Russia’s Fedor Emelianenko has fallen off pretty severely over the last few years. First, he experienced three consecutive losses under the Strikeforce banner, falling to Fabricio Werdum, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, and Dan Henderson. Next, he scored three wins over less than stellar competition, before retiring for several years. Then, in late 2015, he made a massively hyped comeback, first crushing an overmatched Jaideep Singh under the Rizin FF banner, and then battling a hot and cold light heavyweight in Fabio Maldonado to a controversial majority decision – which was later ruled a draw.

Tom Taylor - September 12, 2016

https://youtu.be/YD9ILxGGiZw On Saturday night, former WWE star CM Punk’s MMA dreams came crashing down, as he was defeated by 24-year-old prospect Mickey Gall in his long-awaited UFC debut. The fight was a quick one – 2:14 long to be exact. It began with Punk charging bravely, if recklessly, across the ring to trade strikes with Gall. Gall then took Punk down before a single punch was thrown, where he battered him with ground and pound, before locking up a rear-naked choke to coax out the tap.

bjpenndotcom - September 12, 2016

Jon Jones may be dealing with a potential two-year USADA suspension for two failed tests leading into UFC 200, but that hasn’t stopped the 28-year-old light heavyweight kingpin from thinking big. Like, heavyweight big.

Tom Taylor - September 12, 2016

Last weekend, in the opening bout of UFC 203‘s main card, Scottish strawweight Joanne Calderwood was submitted by dangerous Brazilian Jessica Andrade. Despite the loss, however, the Scotswoman’s visit to Cleveland was not entirely negative. A few days prior to the fight, Calderwood and her training partner UFC flyweight Zach Makovsky were walking down the street when they met a homeless man who told them a few jokes. As a thank you, Calderwood then gave the man a ticket to UFC 203 so that he could watch her fight.

bjpenndotcom - September 12, 2016

Upstate New York native Jon Jones won’t be able to fight in time for the UFC’s debut event in the Empire State, according to a twitter exchange with a fan on Sunday. https://twitter.com/BlackBartSon/status/775172408428859394

Tom Taylor - September 12, 2016

CM Punk’s long-awaited, long-debated jump from pro wrestling to MMA has come and gone, and it did not go the way he planned. The former pro wrestler, who had no real martial arts experience prior to signing with the UFC, was abruptly submitted by a much more experienced fighter in Mickey Gall on the main card of UFC 203 last Saturday. Given Punk’s experiential deficit, nobody was particularly surprised by his failure against Gall. Though many fighters were quick to offer Punk props for his courage, most also admitted the fight unfurled exactly as they expected.

Tom Taylor - September 12, 2016

For awhile there, it looked as though it could be some time before we saw former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold back in the UFC’s Octagon. He’d expressed some serious disappointment with the money the UFC was offering him, and seemed to be focused on his burgeoning modelling career. Luckily, however, the UFC has found a way to lure Rockhold back to the cage. Yesterday, it was announced that the former champion will be taking a trip to Melbourne, Australia this November 26, where he’ll take on an old foe in Brazil’s Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza.

Russell Ess - September 11, 2016

Many fans were questioning what happened to the very amusing “Nick the Tooth” character that started the “Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight” YouTube series. Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra spoke with Bruce Buffer on his “It’s Time” podcast and went into the details of the history of “Nick the Tooth” and the show.

Chris Taylor - September 11, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum turned heads on two occasions during last night’s UFC 203 event in Cleveland, Ohio. Werdum’s first jaw dropping moment came when he started his co-main event bout with Travis Browne by throwing a flying side kick that connected.

Chris Taylor - September 11, 2016

Former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will return to the octagon this November when he squares off with Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in the main event of UFC Fight Night Melbourne. UFC officials just announced the bout.

Chris Taylor - September 11, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum scored a unanimous decision victory over Hawaiian Travis Browne in the co-headliner of yesterday’s UFC 203 event in Cleveland, Ohio.

Chris Taylor - September 11, 2016

Former Strikeforce and DREAM heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem suffered a first-round knockout loss to reigning UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in the headlining bout of yesterday’s UFC 203 pay-per-view event in Cleveland, Ohio. After dropping Miocic early on in round one, Alistair locked in a tight guillotine choke and appeared to be well on his way to a victory. However, much to the disappointment of “Reem” fans, Stipe somehow fought off the submission attempt and got back to his feet.

Chris Taylor - September 11, 2016

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum scored a unanimous decision victory over Travis Browne at last night’s UFC 203 event in Cleveland, Ohio. The win marked the second time that Werdum had defeated Browne in the past 30 months, having scored a decision victory over “Hapa” previously in April of 2014.

Tom Taylor - September 11, 2016

UFC 203, which went down in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday night, is now in the rear-view. While fighter purses for the event have not yet been disclosed, we do now know how much each fighter took home through the UFC’s Athlete Outfitting Program  – the result of the organization’s oft-criticized partnership with sports apparel giant Reebok. In sum, the 20 fighters who stepped into the Octagon in Cleveland took home $215,000. The bulk of that amount went to the evening’s headliners, UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, and challenger Alistair Overeem, who took home $40,000 and $30,000 respectively. The other big earners of the night were those fighters with the most bouts under the Zuffa umbrella. Bantamweight veteran Urijah Faber, for example, took home $20,000 on the strength of his 26 bouts in the UFC and Zuffa-era WEC. Nik Lentz, meanwhile, took home 15,000 thanks to his 17 UFC bouts.